The Cheney Glock-n-Spiel

The gun control spin machine
and its media assistants are in full blather over Dick Cheney's vote
against banning so-called "plastic guns" which could slip through
metal detectors. Unfortunately, the are no mental detectors which can
alert television viewers when spinmeisters have not the slightest idea
what they're talking about. In fact, Cheney's vote showed that he
won't let himself be stampeded by lobbyists or expediency; the vote
therefore underscores his moral fitness for high office.

Today, one of the most popular American pistols for police work, for
target shooting, and for self-defense is the Glock, which is
manufactured in Smyrna, Georgia. The Glock's virtues include being
reliable and unlikely to jam, extremely durable even when not cleaned,
and much more comfortable to carry than most other handguns. The
reason for this last virtue is that the Glock's frame and grip are
made from high-tech plastic polymers. The barrel and internal working
components of the gun, however, are made from metal.

Glock pistols, in many different calibers, are ubiquitous today, but
in the mid-1980s, they were brand new. Then, the company had not
opened its Georgia plant — only a few thousand Glocks had been
imported from the company's base in Austria. The gun prohibition
lobbies know that it's a lot easier to terrify the American people
about something unfamiliar. So the lobbies — with the energetic
assistance of the Washington Postand Jack Anderson — undertook
a publicity campaign to panic everyone over the Glock. They started
calling the Glocks "terrorist specials" and pretending that they were
designed to sneak through metal detectors.

This was a patent lie. The purpose of the lightweight plastic frame is
to make the gun more comfortable to carry for extended periods. That
is why the Glock began to catch on for police use very rapidly in the
late 1980s. Today it's one of the most popular police firearms.

As
for being able to slip through metal detectors, experts testified to
Congress that the Glock is readily detectable. They showed Congress
photos of a Glock under a metal detector, with the Glock's profile
very easily visible. Unfortunately, facts don't matter all that much
on Capitol Hill. Having spread the lie about the undetectable plastic
gun, the gun prohibition lobbies moved to stage two: the bait and
switch. Senators Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) and Strom Thurmond (R-SC)
introduced a bill that outlawed tens of thousands of all metal
handguns — everything that had less than eight ounces of steel. For
example, the thirteen ounce Raven pistol, which is made of alloys, and
therefore has less than eight ounces of pure steel, would have been
banned as a "plastic gun" — even though it doesn't have a molecule of
plastic.

The Department of Justice under Attorney General Meese (who had fought
the NRA for years over the bill that finally became the Firearms
Owners Protection Act of 1986) was poised to endorse the "plastic" gun
ban. Only the timely intervention of Vice President Bush stopped the
DOJ. Still, the gun-prohibition lobbies spread enough disinformation —
especially on security-conscious Capitol Hill — that many legislators
felt a need to "do something." So, in perfect Capitol Hill fashion,
they passed a bill which satisfied the bipartisan desire to "do
something," and which did not offend anyone because it did not
actually do anything.

"Compromise" plastic gun legislation was approved by the National
Rifle Association and by the gun prohibition lobbies. The lobbies got
to tell their members, correctly, that the lobbies had actually pushed
a bill into law. The NRA got to tell its members that nothing had
happened. Both groups were right.

The compromise bill banned the future production and sale of firearms
with less than four ounces of metal. The bill had no effect on any
existing gun, and as far as I can tell, no effect on any gun that
anyone has ever wanted to build. The production of mostly-plastic guns
continues full throttle. The Glock pistols were followed by the
.22-caliber Syntech from Ramline, and now even Smith & Wesson is using
plastics. For most in Congress, the plastic gun compromise was like
getting an "A" without having to take the final exam. The major
lobbies on both sides were happy; Congress looked like it was doing
something; and nothing bothersome was done.

Four Representatives voted "no" against this sham legislation. One of
them was Dick Cheney of Wyoming. The vote shows that Dick Cheney is a
man who doesn't decide what to do simply by gauging how the lobbyists
line up. He takes the care to learn the facts — even the facts that
can't be found in the Washington Post. His garbage detector is
very strong. Too bad all the media talking heads don't have their own
garbage detectors, which might lead to some questioning of the plastic
gun hoax.

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